Bergdahl Taliban Prisoner Swap: Meet the 5 Men We Set Free

Mohammad A Fazl

Mohammad A Fazl, or Mullah Mohammad Fazl, is an Afghan national born in 1967. In Defense Department documents released by Wikileaks, Fazl is identified as the Taliban Deputy Minister of Defense serving as a commander during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Like Mullah Norullah Noori (next slide), Fazl was wanted by the United Nations for possible war crimes for the murder of of "thousands of Shiites." Because of Fazl's considerable influence in Northern Afghanistan (the Defense Department reports his name is often used as a tool for recruitment) the U.S. government reportedly had to pay $500,000 just to assure safe passage for the prisoner out of the country. He surrendered in November 2001 and was transferred to Guantanamo on January 11, 2002. In 2008, the US government determined that, "If released, detainee would likely rejoin the Taliban and establish ties with ACM elements participating in hostilities against US and coalition forces in Afghanistan."
(Department of Defense)